Zone vs. Gap Rushing – Week 4

Not unlike the other positions, RB injuries have been stripping our fantasy teams to the bone. Listen to some of these names we’re trying to find replacements for this week: De’Von Achane (Out for Season), Breece Hall (Out, Week-to-Week), Travis Etienne Jr. (Out, 4+ weeks), Rachaad White (Out), Jonathon Brooks (Out, 4+ weeks), and Jadarian Price (Out).

That’s awful but it’s also opportunistic. As the NFL coaches always tell us, it’s “next man up” when big time injuries occur. Well, that’s the same for us fake footballers as well. That’s why you come to Razzball, we’ll help you get to the promised land.

For this week, I’m going to mix it up and put you all to work. As you know, we provide a number of free tools to help with all your fantasy roster management needs (see below). This week, I’m not going to tell you who have be better matchups and who doesn’t, you are. I’ll give you some clues, and you’ll go to our tools to figure it out.

Call it a RB treasure hunt. I’ll be fun, trust me.

While you’re at the site, go check out all our great work, and the other FREE tools. I conveniently put the links right here for you. 

Again, because we’re focusing on Rushing in this article, and you’ll need to use them to solve the riddles below, I’ll kick the podium for that one. The DEF Zone vs. Gap rushing is a great tool to help identify good (and not so good) RB matchups. If you want a short refresher (or tutorial, if you’re new to this tool) on the table, simply go back to my original article HERE.         

Like I said, we have a whole suite of FREE tools as well as Rudy’s premium tools to provide everything you need, no matter your fantasy taste.  Here are links to both:

Be sure to check out the latest tools on Razzball.com: Slot vs. Wide PPG Allowed | WR Slot vs. Wide| DEF Targets Allowed | Home vs. Away | Wins vs. Losses | TD Tool | DEF Zone vs. Gap Rushing | RB Zone vs. Gap Rushing  |

Want more data-driven stats and tools to help you win your fantasy league? Check out the Razzball Fantasy Football premium subscriptions for $0.00 upfront with our 3-day free trial!

Let’s play a game of “WHO AM I”? Don’t worry, I won’t make this too hard. HINT: If you use our tools, it should be pretty easy. Give it a try, it really is fun.

Put your answers in the chat.

Week 4 Matchups

Zone Matchups

• For the first Zone recommendation, this one is a no-brainer, but I add him because his backfield mate may also be a Flex start in deeper leagues. Here are your clues:
  • The DEF they face gives up over 61 Zone yards per game, which is 53% of their total yards per game.
  • The DEF also gives up 22% of total targets against to RBs
  • For their part, this RB duo gains their yards primarily behind Zone blocking (68% and 70%, respectively) and is averaging a combined 5 targets per game.
  • Who are we?   
• The second one is a RB duo as well, although there’s one clear-cut starter and the other remains Flex worthy for sure. Just like the first one, this duo is on the only other team that is averaging over 100 yards per game. As a team, Zone rushing accounts for 68% of their designed rushes, that’s #2 in the league. Figure it out yet? If not, here are some clues you can search for:
  • The primary RB (76% Zone) is averaging 18 rushing attempts and 3 targets per game.
  • The secondary RB (80% Zone) is averaging 10 rushing attempts and just over 1 target per game.
  • The DEF is only allowing just over 5 targets per game, so don’t count on a lot of receiving yards regardless.
  • The DEF is top 10 in limiting ground damage at 77 yards per game and has been better than league average in limiting Zone yards per game (37 vs. 47). In fact, the split between Zone% and Gap% is just about equal.  
  • So for this one, something has to give. The RBs (and OFF) runs primarily Zone and has been very successful so far. The DEF has been better than average in shutting Zone rushing down. The primary will be a certain start. The secondary will most likely factor into a lot of decisions as well. Tricky!
  • Who are we?  
• Ok, one more set of clues for Zone rushing. This on is essentially a solo RB now. His primary RB partner is out this week. That in itself likely makes him a must-starter for fantasy rosters but let’s look at the numbers to see if we should get excited.
  • What make this one most intriguing is the OFF is averaging over 90 designed rushing yards per game (57% Zone) while the DEF is giving up the 5^th most Zone rushing yards per game (55%).
  • The RB is averaging about 16 designed carries per game, with 72% behind Zone blocking.
  • The RB is averaging only 1 target per game so there’s not really much interest there. However, his RB mate, who is not playing this week, is averaging 3 targets per game, so there may be some extra points there.
  • Or maybe not, the DEF is giving up only 15% of all targets to RBs.
  • Still, there’s plenty to like in this matchup. So, who am I?

See, wasn’t that fun?  Let’s move on to the Gap matchups.

Gap Matchups

• Another duo, but the primary RB has definitely taken the bulk of the groundwork the last two weeks.
  • The primary RB has logged over 20 Gap attempts (51%) this season (Top 15).
  • He’s also averaging a couple targets per game, which is nice because the DEF is ranked in the bottom 10% of defenses allowing RB targets (> 18%).
  • The DEF is also allowing more than 40% rushing yards to Gap rushing.
  • So, who am I?
• Yet another fantasy duo, but one that hasn’t established a clear 1 and 1A yet.
  • The RB most of us prefer is rushing through Gaps in 3 of every 4 carries (75%) where his partner is just 55%.
  • One of the RBs has been getting the bulk of the targets, averaging almost 4 per game, but they’re both running routes between 11-12% of snaps. This probably doesn’t much matter because…
  • The DEF ranks 7^th best in limiting RB targets, only 12%.
  • What does matter though, as a team this DEF ranks 8^th best in allowing Gap yards per game (over 40 yards).
  • So, who are we?
• Ok, last one. This team needs a W in a big way and its OFF leads the league with almost 60% designed yards per game as Gap rushes.
  • This one is a bit ugly because the team leader in Gap rushing (70%) is only seeing a handful of rushing attempts per game. Perhaps he’s worthy of a flyer?
  • The “primary” ball carrier, means receiving most of the RB snaps, is just over 50% Gap.
  • The DEF has been very good in limiting Gap yards (top 10).
  • Everything in me is screaming we want to stay away from this matchup.
  • So, who are we?

That’s All Folks

So, how did you do? Do you take advantage of all our free tools?  If you didn’t, you’re just guessing. Use the tools and solve the riddles…and pick up some nuggets along the way. 

DON’T FORGET TO PUT YOUR GUESSES IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

All of the RazzballNFL staff is here to help so get on the ball.  Be sure to read our daily articles and especially join us on gameday morning for the Razzball Sunday Start/Sit show.  We had another great turnout last Sunday with excellent (i.e., tough) lineup questions to talk through.  Keep bringing it! 

As always, the show airs LIVE on the Razzball YouTube channel this Sunday from 11:00 am EDT (8:00 PDT) right up right up to gametime.  The Boys and I will be there to answer all your fantasy football questions.  Don’t miss it.   



As always, look for my articles right here each week and be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @Derek_Favret.  I’m also on BlueSky as well (@dfavret.bsky.social).

Until next time, my friends.